Bent Steel Flat Bar - Advice please?

C

CocoMonGo

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Oct 17, 2011
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I recently ordered and received my Elmax steel from usaknifemaker.com a 2"x26"x.204" steel bar. all nicely packed in box. However when I received it, it was not entirely flat; i.e. it rises to a total of 8mm on one end when I push it flat down on the other. Is this normal and can I safely proceed with getting my blanks cut, HT etc with this bend? Will it cause any problems later on?

I plan to make a total of 3 blanks out of this, the longest blade being about 10" long. The bar is bent in a parabolic curve.... not right angles.
 
It's not uncommon to receive flat bars with curves. You may find it easiest to flaten the whole bar rather than cutting it up to the sizes you will want to begin with. You can just go ahead and hit it with a hammer to get it to lie flat. Once you get most of the curve out you may find that supporting it with rods , even large nails with the heads cut off, and continuing to flaten with the hammer can work real well. Frank
 
I would use the least amount of force needed to straighten it, starting by hand and only using a hammer if needed. If the bend is mostly in one spot you might be able to straighten it over the corner of a bench or table by hand. If it is well annealed it should bend pretty easily.
 
thanks Frank for the quick answer. at least i know I shouldnt bother to return the steel just to try and get a flat piece. however hammering it flat might be a challenge. I previously read somewhere that PM steels are super tough and it will be hard to shape even when forged. I will probably have to source for a third party to straighten it for me ... i.e. commercial companies. Thank again.
 
Most of the mill finished bars I get have a slight curve to them specially the 48" lengths. I draw out my blanks and cut off the total length needed, then straighten the small piece of bar before I cut out the profile. This works for me and is my 2 cents.
 
CocoMonGo said:
thanks Frank for the quick answer. at least i know I shouldnt bother to return the steel just to try and get a flat piece. however hammering it flat might be a challenge. I previously read somewhere that PM steels are super tough and it will be hard to shape even when forged. I will probably have to source for a third party to straighten it for me ... i.e. commercial companies. Thank again.
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You're way over-thinking this!

All the steel I've bought from USA (which isn't a ton, but does include some Elmax) has been nicely annealed. It's easy to bend. Relax.
 
If you do need to hit it with a hammer, I would recomend using a hammer with rolled up leather for the striking head instead of a steel head. The steel can dent the metal and that dent might be in a bad spot if you plan to use stock removal on the steel.
Those leather hammers have a name, but i can't think of it right now. Welding shops might have them.
 
james terrio said:
You're way over-thinking this!

All the steel I've bought from USA (which isn't a ton, but does include some Elmax) has been nicely annealed. It's easy to bend. Relax.
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Hi James, do you mind sharing how you did yours? As Frank mentioned earlier I too tired to straighten the bar by hand by trying to bend out the curve but the thing just refuses to budge. I set it to rest on two edges of the chair and tried to bend it into the curve... even ended up sitting on it but it still refuses to budge. granted i am only 65kg :)
 
Tom Lewis said:
If you do need to hit it with a hammer, I would recomend using a hammer with rolled up leather for the striking head instead of a steel head. The steel can dent the metal and that dent might be in a bad spot if you plan to use stock removal on the steel.
Those leather hammers have a name, but i can't think of it right now. Welding shops might have them.
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Rawhide mallets, a hardwood mallet or nonmarring nylon face would do too.
perhaps a lead shot non marring non rebound hammer, or maybe even an old rubber mallet

Whatever you have like that, James is right it's not that difficult,
even find a bit of firewood look at it look at it, whack it, look at it, look at it, whack it and so on.
 
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Just wondering out loud, you see a left/right bend when you look along the flat, as opposed to a bend sighted along the .204 edge (the kind that is easily fixed by hand), correct?
 
CocoMonGo said:
Hi James, do you mind sharing how you did yours?
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I put the outward curve of the bar against the outside of my bent knee with my hands holding it on either end and leaned back some. Gently. Granted, I'm a fairly big guy, but I really don't think that's much of a factor.

C'mon now, friend. This is NOT rocket science. You're dealing with soft, annealed steel; it is remarkably easy to deal with.

Your questions have been addressed with several practical answers, from people who have done this stuff hundreds of times. An aspiring craftsman would pick one or two of those answers and get to work.

Do you really want to know how to work with this stuff, or are you just trolling us?
 
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Grapefruit Knives





I bend it against my workbench, be careful not to over bend.
 
james terrio said:
I put the outward curve of the bar against the outside of my bent knee with my hands holding it on either end and leaned back some. Gently. Granted, I'm a fairly big guy, but I really don't think that's much of a factor.

C'mon now, friend. This is NOT rocket science. You're dealing with soft, annealed steel; it is remarkably easy to deal with.

Your questions have been addressed with several practical answers, from people who have done this stuff hundreds of times. An aspiring craftsman would pick one or two of those answers and get to work.

Do you really want to know how to work with this stuff, or are you just trolling us?
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Hi James, thank for the input, but no I am not trolling around and I am for real. I will give it a try again this weekend to see what I get out of it. You are right in that as of now it is pretty soft, and I can bend it by hand. what I am not getting is permanent deformation (to un-curve it). I didnt do some search before posting but not much on the area of PM steels. Hence I was just wondering if there was some secret sauce to doing this :)
 
aarongb said:
Just wondering out loud, you see a left/right bend when you look along the flat, as opposed to a bend sighted along the .204 edge (the kind that is easily fixed by hand), correct?
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Yes it is actually bent on the .204 edge. Either I am really not putting enough deformation into correcting the curve to reach the material's plastic deformation limit or I am doing it wrong... the thing is really springy I guess that is why it is supposed to be a high end steel. I will give it a go again this weekend to see what I get. Thank all for the helpful reply.
 
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